New Delhi, Jul 22: In a signal that out-of-turn remarks will not be tolerated, Rahul Gandhi on Monday warned that those who go beyond the party line will face action.
"Spokespersons and panelists may have their individual views, but as party spokespersons and panelists you have to be within party line. We cannot go beyond party ideology. Those who go beyond will be noticed and action will be taken," Gandhi said.
Former Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi said that the party vice-president made these remarks while inaugurating a meeting of party spokesmen and panelists at a time when Lok Sabha elections are less than a year away.
Gandhi's warning came on a day when the party disapproved of the remarks of party general secretary Shakeel Ahmed and party MP Rashid Masood that the 2002 Gujarat riots had led to the formation of the terror outfit Indian Mujahideen (IM).
Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh, Union ministers Beni Prasad Verma and Jairam Ramesh have at several times been ticked off by the party leadership for their controversial remarks on various issues.
Gandhi also wanted partymen to be "very decent" in the language at a time when the trend of indecent language was catching on on the social media.
"We cannot do that. We are party of Mahatma Gandhi," the Congress vice-president is reported to have told the meeting.
Madhya Pradesh police have registered a case against Digvijay Singh for his alleged "insensitive" tweet on children posted while the sodomy charges against former finance minister Raghavji came to light recently.
The complainant had underlined that the tweet of Singh in which he allegedly wrote "Baccha Baccha Ram Ka Raghavji Ke Kaam Ka" has hurt the majority community.
When party leaders from Gujarat noted how Narendra Modi's government dissiminates wrong information, Gandhi said that people may be spreading lies, but we will rely on truth. "We have to seek the truth," he said.
The meeting addressed by Gandhi is being attended by 200 young and experienced party workers including five from each state, 16 from NSUI and youth Congress besides AICC national spokesmen and media panelists.
It is to showcase the achievements of the party to the people and take Congress view point to them on various issues.
The two-day media conclave of Congress is aimed at toning up its communication strategy in states in the run up to the assembly and Lok Sabha polls.
At the meeting, the party will also unveil its social platform "Khidki" for spokespersons from across the country encouraging them to use it as a window of opportunity besides giving them lessons on the dos and don'ts of electronic media.
The programme also features round-table discussions in ten groups organised for spokespersons from states and NSUI and Youth Congress representatives on a host of current topics.
Jaitley slams Congress
Meanwhile, BJP leader Arun Jaitley lashed out at Congress over its spokesman Shakeel Ahmed's remarks. On Monday, he said Congress's Shakeel sought to "rewrite history". He said that Ahmed's remark was Congress's desperate attempt to communalize national security by painting Indian Mujahideen as victim of riots.
